#alex stern series | Explore Tumblr Posts and Blogs

tough-n-dumb · 4 months

Text

when alex calls darlington danny when trying to bring his soul home from hell. when darlington calls alex galaxy when saying he’s been crying out to her from the start. when we’re told over and over again the importance of the bond we form through names. that’s all

#listen #AAHHH #that’s all just listen to me scream #darlingstern #ninth house #hell bent #alex stern series

119 notes · View notes

wingedshadowfan · 5 months

Text

um. hell bent (ninth house sequel) spoilers ahead.

darlington has implied anger issues, alcohol problems, a dirty mind, insatiable curiosity, a hyperfixation on the arcane, he's a murderer and he doesn't regret it - he's basically always sinned. he's always been a little bad.

it's not that only now that he's part-demon he has to wrestle with this ominous darker being that's lurking inside him. it's always been a part of him (part of every human being i'd like to argue), he's just been able to shut it out, control it better, compartmentalize (as one does), and now he has no choice but to let it free, free himself from his own inhibitions

But as he was not quite human any longer, he supposed a more flexible approach to morality was called for.

he's intelligent enough to realize he basically has to learn to deal with the fact that he's now powerless to the urges of his own demons, pun intended

this is what i want to see in a future book, not him struggling to hold back or trying to school himself into an image of goodness and perfection, because he's always done that! i want him to let go, absolutely lose it and be unapologetically unhinged and sinister, kind of like how alex is but worse

#ninth house #ninth house spoilers #hell bent spoilers #hell bent #hellbent #leigh bardugo books #leigh bardugo #alex stern series #alex stern #galaxy stern #darlington #daniel arlington #daniel tabor arlington v #golden boy of lethe #gentleman demon #gentleman of lethe #darlingstern

117 notes · View notes

malinaa · 1 year

Text

[crawls out of book 2 bloodied and weary] maybe in book 3 darlingstern can fuck

#lit #alex stern series #hell bent #hell bent spoilers #darlingstern #text #tais toi lys #*

583 notes · View notes

msbrightsides · 1 year

Text

Hell Bent spoilers:

Does anyone else think about that scene where Alex pretends Darlington just got back from Spain in front of the new Praetor? How she cried and flew into his arms and he was almost too surprised to hug her back? How that was the only time they’ve ever hugged? How Alex felt how warm his hand was on the small of her back? Bc as much as the other scenes are great, that’s the one I keep coming back to

#ninth house #hell bent spoilers #hell bent #alex stern series #alex stern #galaxy stern #alex x darlington #darlington×alex #darlington #darlingstern #pamela dawes #abel turner #mercy zhao #tripp helmuth

307 notes · View notes

academtits · 4 months

Text

I love how Alex could have literally crossed the circle and yanked Darlington out of hell no problem, but instead the gang takes the long way, twice, as some demented team-building, trauma-bonding exercise.

#alex stern #darlingstern #darlington #leigh bardugo #ninth house #hell bent #alex stern series #galaxy stern #pamela dawes #tripp helmuth #detective Abel turner #lethe house

48 notes · View notes

hurbarts · 1 year

Photo

i have serious hell bent withdrawals and i just love galaxy alex stern so so much

#ninth house #hell bent #alex stern #alex stern series #hurbarts*

177 notes · View notes

katehflynn · 1 year

Text

alex: *has a sad thought*

darlington, immediately waking up from a deep slumber: something’s wrong.

#this absolutely goes both ways #mine.#darlingstern #darlington x alex #alex x darlington #danny x alex #alex x danny #ninth house #hell bent #gentlemen demon #wheelwalker #leigh bardugo #alex stern series #alex stern #galaxy stern #daniel arlington #darlington

363 notes · View notes

andreai04 · 5 months

Text

“That was the problem with love. It was hard to unlearn, no matter how harsh the lesson.”

38 notes · View notes

one-hell-of-otaku-is-here · 10 months

Text

Sometimes I think about all of my dark academia (both books and movies) characters interacting with each other... they are almost all murderers and need therapy... I love chaos which would ensue

83 notes · View notes

lesbianamalvada · 2 months

Text

I'm sorry girlies but I just DO NOT get Darlington's appeal. He's a fine character, maybe it's just the lesbian in me, but him and Alex seem SO FORCED. Plus it's a "slow burn" but we know what the fuck you're gonna do Bardugo!! Idk it's just so forced, ntm they've barely spent anytime together because Dumbass Darlington walked into monster month (and his last thoughts were blaming Alex for it, lmfaoo). And the interaction they do have together is dull, sorry! Alex is such a cool character and she has more chemistry with literally EVERYONE ELSE in the cast.

I mean just look at the descent in Hell Bent where we get a backstory of all the characters. Pamela Dawes isn't loud and out-of-this-world like most Bardugo characters. She feels so realistic, but is still so interesting. We see how she has crippling anxiety from developing too fast, how she hides behind her academia, how she's torn up about killing Blake. She's so understated but so real and relatable for it.

We see how Turner struggles with being a cop and trying to be a bastard, how he literally killed his mentee for what he believes in, how he tries to be a fighter for good and his people in a world that rewards him for doing the opposite. Even his spirituality is handled respectfully and he's just a really well done character.

Then we have Tripp, we've all met a Tripp, all the privilege in the world but you can't even hate him for it cause he's been too sheltered to ever develop a mean bone in his body. Except we see how he dealt with abuse from his cousin all his life. We see how Spenser just gets away with it, and I empathized with Tripp when he let Spenser die. (Which btw he's not technically a murderer for that but WHATEVER LEIGH) After the descent I did a full 180 on his character!

And Mercy is so fun. She's not familiar with the world of magic and looks at it with hopeful-Harry-Potter-fan eyes, she's like a conduit for the reader in a way the jaded Alex can't be. But also if you think about her backstory is VERY dark. She was violated in the most horrible way by this magic before she even knew it existed. And now she wants to harness that same magic so she's never put in that position again. She kills a man because Alex tells her to, because she thinks this is some sort of Hogwarts adventure. And then at the end of the book you see grasp what Lethe is, and her tension with Alex is *chef's kiss* so good!

Ughh and thenn we have Darlington...what's Darlington's big murderer moment? The thing that made him eligible for a scholarship at Demon University? He *checks notes* pulled the life support on his dying geriatric grandpa at the man's own request....okayy. Surely there's something else? Well you see Darlington's always wanted to believe in magic! Just like all of us! It's like he's trying to hard to represent us fantasy readers, but by the second book Mercy already accomplishes this and does it better. And I guess you can say he had neglectful parents but it's just handled so unrealistically I couldn't believe it. 1. Once the grandpa was dead and Darlington was a minor his parents could have easily torn down that shitty house. 2. Darlington would legally belong to them, they wouldn't have to turn off the electricity to freeze him out of the house, they could call CPS who would bust down the doors and give him to his parents. 3. His whole backstory relies on a crusty house?? Really?? 4. I'm tired of the poor little rich boy trope. I'd rather have characters like Tripp, yes they've had their own struggles but wealth has shielded them, instead of unrealistic characters like Darlington. It's even worse because Leigh tries to frame Alex's and Darlington's childhood as "two sides of the same coin' when it's not that at all!

And you'd think Demon Danny would have a little spice but, no? I guess he enjoyed punishing people and making them suffer (told, not show) and he has urges to do it again? But more importantly we need to know that he REALLY REALLY wants to fuck Alex. Also he will serve Alex TiL tHe EnD oF dAyS! He's also her personal slave now and she can make him do whatever. Demon Danny is starting to feel like a fetish, okay? IT'S. SO. FORCED. They barely had any chemistry before the dumbass walked straight into Hell, but I see why Alex's destructive nature would put her on a suicide mission for his rescue. But now he's dreaming about her in his perfect future? They're cosmically connected to each other? It's so funny because they are both way closer to Pamela Dawes but just fuck her I guess.

Anyway I think Darlington lacks substance and he's not good enough for Alex BUT i'm hoping I'll like him more in book 3. Can any Darlington fans give me your interpretation of the character and why you like him? I really don't like feeling this way since he's such a big part of the story and sometimes a different analysis is all you need. As of right now he's the embodiment "Go girl! Give us nothing!" for me.

#ninth house #hell bent #alex stern #leigh bardugo #pamela dawes #darlington #captain turner #abel turner #tripp helmuth #mercy zhao #alex stern series #hell bent spoilers #ninth house spoilers

21 notes · View notes

tough-n-dumb · 2 months

Text

leigh bardugo slow burn… save me..

leigh bardugo slow burn

save me leigh bardugo slow burn

#losing my mind can u tell?#six of crows #kanej #ninth house #alex stern series #darlingstern #king of scars #zoyalai #yes i’m counting zoyalai even tho they are fully burned #help. the brain rot. help.

27 notes · View notes

wingedshadowfan · 5 months

Text

Darlington had never gotten used to it. He doubted he ever would—the urge to gag, the bitter spike that drove through his soft palate and up into the back of his skull.

“Fuck,” he gasped.

Alex blinked. “I think that’s the first time I’ve heard you swear.”

Chills shook him and he tried to control the tremors that quaked through his body.

“I c-c-class p-p-profanity with declarations of love. Best used sparingly and only when wholeheartedly m-m-meant.”

i had actually forgotten this part, kind of a chekov's gun, isn't it? i can't wait for him to either swear again or declare his love now

#ninth house #ninth house spoilers #alex stern #galaxy stern #alex stern series #leigh bardugo books #leigh bardugo #darlington #daniel arlington #daniel tabor arlington v #golden boy of lethe #gentleman of lethe #hell bent #gentleman demon

111 notes · View notes

malinaa · 9 months

Text

i love fictional characters who’ve been dead since the beginning but clawed their way back towards the living

#darlington #richard gansey #<- they r the same. to ME #lit #the raven cycle #alex stern series #text #tais toi lys #this is different than fictional characters who are dead since the beginning but are alive AND dead (alice palmer abigail Hobbs type beat)#*

92 notes · View notes

msbrightsides · 1 year

Text

361 notes · View notes

readlikeido · 11 months

Text

ninth house // hell bent

123 notes · View notes

reticent-fantasies · 1 year

Text

How many more times does Alex have to go to hell before she can enter her monsterfucker era?

#let the girl have crazy demon sex with darlington #hell bent spoilers #hell bent #ninth house #alex stern series

323 notes · View notes